


Beginners guide to Pyrotechnics

by Unfried_Mouth_Wheat



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Firebender! Jet, Fluff and Angst, Jet (Avatar) Lives, M/M, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:22:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26374183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfried_Mouth_Wheat/pseuds/Unfried_Mouth_Wheat
Summary: Jet can't be a Fire Bender...right?
Relationships: Jet/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	1. Flicker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet makes another mistake, this one worse than his others.

Li had finally bent fire. He had to have. The terror in Smellerbee's face and the wide eyed expression on Longshot's was proof that he had. The small jet of fire that just came out of his hand had to have been Li. There was no way that he had done it. He was the former leader of the Freedom Fighters! He took joy in every ounce of the Fire Nation's suffering. There was no way that the burst of pure flame had come from him. It couldn't have. 

"See? Li's messing with us!" He said, looking around for any sign of the fake refugee. He took a step closer to his teammates, his friends, his family. Smellerbee stumbled back as Longshot stepped in front of her, hand getting uncomfortably close to his quiver of arrows.

"We have to stop him! He's planning something! You two saw him Fire Bend just now!" He said, more desperately than he would have liked to admit. Another step closer. Another step back. He was starting to get frantic. He could feel the air heating up around them from the tension. It had to be the tension.

"No, we didn't Jet." Smellerbee spit out, her tone far too distant for his liking. 

"We saw you Fire Bend." He could feel himself getting angry at those words. There was no way he was a filthy ash maker. He clenched his fists tightly, anger building up inside of him. There was no way. It was physically impossible. He attempted to get close to Smellerbee.

"Come on, it's me! There's no way! You guys know me!" He desperately said, getting even closer to his Teammates. Smellerbee was shaking a bit. It wasn't possible. Longshot gave Smellerbee a look, and for once he didn't understand. Smellerbee seemed to understand though, as she started running as fast as she could.

He started to go after her, sparks forming in front of him. He couldn't process anything over the sound of a bow string being released. He felt a sharp pain pierce his shoulder. He let out a cry and stumbled to the ground, red already seeping out of the wound. He knew what it was, but he still needed to see it. He pulled out the painfully familiar object. An arrow that he had helped make. He turned around, propping himself up on his elbows.  
He looked up to see his friend just a few feet away from him. His eyes were wide as he looked desperately at his teammate, stone heating up underneath him. He only had time to mutter one thing before the release of a bow string rang through the air again.

"Longshot?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, please understand Smellerbee and Longshot's actions. Their leader just attempted to flood an Earth Kingdom village by the logic of "it's the only way to get rid of the Fire Nation" but now Jet is fire bending. Plus, he's acting weird and getting close to them when they clearly aren't comfortable. Anyone else WOULD have been a Fire Bender in disguise.


	2. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Song has some questions, none of which are easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, writing short chapters because I'm lazy: I love writing
> 
> I promise I'll get my crap together soon, I swear

Out of all the ridiculousness Song had heard and seen in her meager fifteen years of living, this had to be the most impossible. A man had apparently burst into the ward, an arrow sticking out of his head. How he was still conscious, she didn't know and she wasn't too keen on finding out. It was more likely that the other nurses were just making a story up, trying to entertain themselves. Things were rather slow in Ba Sing Se, considering most everyone went from treating wounded soldiers to rich folk who were worried about a case of the cold. It could get rather boring, but it was much easier work for the beginners. These thoughts were immediately killed off when she saw said 'man' on one of the cots.

He looked to be about her age, hardly a man at all. The arrow was still there, and she could see the other healers shy away from looking at the boy. She couldn't help but glare at them. They were the one's who were here before she was, the one's who babied her and tried to show her the ropes an yet here they were, refusing to treat someone who needed it more than any of the pompous nobles that frequented the ward. Being he only medical building in the entirety of Ba Sing Se could be quite a pain sometimes.

She shoved her way past all the other girls, seeing as only women were allowed to work in the medical field for some reason that was well known yet not spoken of. She made her way to the boy's cot and assessed the damage. He wasn't bleeding much from his head, bit his shoulder was quite a different story. They hadn't even bandaged the wound. "When did he enter?" Song asked, looking to her colleges faces. They seemed guilty.

"Twenty minutes ago..." One spoke up. She felt her temper flare up. They had let this man bleed out for twenty minutes before even trying to get someone who knew what they were doing? She shooed them away, glaring at all of them as a collective whole. What good were they if they were squeamish around blood?

She got to work, removing the layers of armor and cloth. The shoulder was still bleeding, just as she had expected. Cleaning the hole with alcohol was the only option, even if it would sting worse that a buzzer hornet. The arrow was a different matter.

Removing it right then and there was too risky. She could just barely see the stone tip, so there was a good chance that it hadn't pierced the bone, but it was still stuck in the boy's forehead pretty good. She would have to be careful about this, as one small mistake could risk serious damage.

•••

Everything was hot. Burning even. Why was it so damn hot? There was no reason for it to be. Maybe it was not to mock him. He hated it. He hated this. It felt like flames were scorching his arm and face. It hurt. It hurt so badly.

He jumped forward, chest heaving. He couldn't open his eyes. Why couldn't he open his eyes? Why was it ringing? Where was he? Instead of answers, he got a gentle hand pushing him back down so he was laying on his back.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt yourself." A sharp voice chided . He felt inclined to listen to it. His arm felt numb, which was off considering it had been in agonizing pain a few moments ago. He was so confused, and the fact that he couldn't see what was going on didn't help at all. 

He was propped up, just enough for him to be able to drink the liquid that was being poured into his mouth. After, he was laid back down again. He was tempted to tell the girl to make up her mind, but he was too tired. He just wanted to rest. Maybe that was the best course of action. Everything would make sense in the morning.sharp

•••

She glared at her hands, a scowl present on her face. She had made that one small mistake, and the damage was done. She was still trying to calm her nerves from the result.. It was always difficult to deal with the head. So important, so fragile. She was so upset with herself, it she knew that she couldn't have done a better job. This was the best anyone could have done for the boy. Her hands started shaking. The boy...did he know? Her hands were sore, so very sore. Her leg was aching on top of that, just to make her miserable she supposed.

The boy had bent fire, but it wasn't normal. It was impossible to miss the blue interlaced with the usual reds and oranges. She didn't realize just how shaken she was until now. It took her a moment to noticed that she was crying.

What was a Fire Bender doing in Ba Sing Se? She had thought that she would finally be safe here, but this boy had the audacity to come in here and prove her wrong. The impenetrable city had been penetrated by this damn boy, this boy who seemed to have no problems with fire bending in his sleep. Just how skilled was he? Was he formally trained? Oma and Shu, was he a spy? Was that why he came in here with an arrow in his stupid head? She curled her legs underneath her arms and sobbed. No where was safe.

She heard the floorboards creek, and soon felt arms wrapped around her. Her mother, she knew. Her mother was the one who had gotten them jobs at the medical ward. Sobs wracked her body as she leaned into her mother's embrace. 

"What do you want to do?" She asked, gingerly running her fingers through her hair. Song hiccups, shaking her head. She didn't know. She had thought that finally, finally, was safe. She had thought that she could live peacefully now. She should have known better. This boy was nothing but an omen of what was to come. Was that dramatic? It probably was. 

"I just want us to be safe." She cried. Her mother let out a sound that resembled a choked sob. Why them? Why now?

Why did this boy have to ruin everything?


End file.
